Monday, September 28, 2009

Building Community, Neighborhood Style

Yesterday we attended the Annual Coolidge Ave. Block Party. Looking back, I admit that the annual block party sold me on the house that I bought here on Coolidge Ave. back in 1994. As I came for a final visit with the Realtor, I saw the notice slipped under the door notifying the neighbors that the block party would take place at the end of July. I wanted to live on a block that had an annual block party...

Fifteeen years later, it's now held in September; some neighbors moved on, some new neighbors arrived, many have stayed and the food and conversation remain consistently good.

Over the years, we've talked about putting a neighborhood directory together. Today we talked about it again. Tonight I came home and logged into Ning.com and began to create a Coolidge Ave. Neighbors social network. At first, I just wanted a place to post names, addresses and contact information with a picture of each house on the block. Then I brainstormed and created a number of online groups as part of the network, including:

Neighborhood Watch: Report information here so we all can keep on eye on crime and work to prevent it on Coolidge Avenue.

Sharing the Backyard Harvest: Don't let your backyard harvests and bumper crops go to waste. Post here to let neighbors know about the fruits and vegetables you can share.

Lost and Found: From pets to possessions, if you lost it or found it post a message here.

Neighbor to Neighbor: A place for neighbors to let each other know about their businesses, services and goods for sale or barter.

I am hoping the adage, "If you build it, they will come." will apply to my new neighborhood social network. I found a surprising number of my neighbors on Facebook and invited them to come and preview my creation and give me feedback. I hope Coolidge Ave. Neighbors will be up and running in a few weeks. In the meantime, feel free to copy my group ideas when you create your own neighborhood social network.